[Chapter 131]
After saying that, Gerald walked up to the car to take a look.
He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t distressed at the sight of his broken car at all.
Moreover, what could he possibly do now? What has happened, has happened. Plus it was Mila’s grandmother’s birthday banquet today.
If he demanded them to pay for the damages incurred, what would it make Mila look like?
Besides that, it was also have been too embarrassing.
Out of no choice, he was left to bottle his bitter sufferings in silence.
And with that, Gerald could only ask them to carry on whatever they were doing. He could perhaps later on drive his car to the 4S shop to fix the damages.
“Who do you think you are? Do you think that everything will be okay just because you say that it’s okay?”
“Those who don’t know any better would actually think that you are actually Mr. Crawford from Mayberry Commercial Street. Let’s only talk about all these when you finally reach that point in life!”
“Exactly! If we leave right now, then this will definitely be treated as a hit-and-run case. Adding on to that, we’ll have to bear a very huge responsibility because this would be a case that costs so much money! How can you have no legal consciousness at all!”
A group of Mila’s cousins, aunts and uncles immediately began mocking Gerald.
Irene grabbed this opportunity to add to the flames, “He is just a country bumpkin who does not know anything at all. So, how can you talk about legal consciousness with him?”
“Right okay, let’s not talk about him anymore. He can’t be of any help anyway. We might as well use all of our efforts to see if we can use any of our connections to resolve this matter instead.”
Rita glanced at Gerald faintly before she fixed her attention back to the topic of the car.
“Rita is right. Since it has already happened, escaping is not a solution. Ah! If we really have no choice, then I will contact Mr. Logan from the Bureau of Commerce. Back then, your grandfather had a very close relationship with him. Perhaps, he might know the identity of this young man!”
The old lady replied.
Many people started whipping out their cell phones to call their own contacts.
Kenneth did not want to be outdone. He wanted to see if he could use his connections to find out more about the owner of the car.
Gerald shook his head wryly.
If this continued, everyone would be placed in a very awkward situation.
Ugh!
Gerald sighed before he took out his car key.
Beep! Beep!
Two beeps.
The lights started flashing.
“Ahh?”
All of them were taken aback.
They then saw Gerald slowly walking forward.
He pressed a button again.
There were two buzzing sounds.
The Lamborghini made a mechanical sound and the sunroof opened automatically, as it folded into a kind of roadster.
Gerald picked up a bottle of mineral water from the driver’s seat.
He was really thirsty.
After taking a few mouthfuls, he wiped his mouth before he said, “I’ve already told you, that it’s no big deal. You can go and get busy with your own plans.”
No one replied to Gerald at all. Instead, he was greeted with a pin-drop silence.
Smack!
Kenneth was just about to make a phone call when his cell phone fell to the ground because he did not hold it firmly in his hand.
Glup!
Kyle and his girlfriend could only swallow their saliva.
Irene started breathing rapidly as her mouth gapped slightly, indicating the intense shock she was feeling at that very moment.
Rita was standing next to Gerald. A confused look ran all over her face before she slowly looked at Gerald in surprise.
The old lady was also stunned.
Everyone was flabbergasted.
“This car…belongs to Gerald?”
No one knew who broke the silence first.
More so, that person who spoke out captured everyone else’s inner consternation with much precision.
Mila was also very surprised and she asked, “Gerald, this car is yours?”
“Of course, it is mine. Didn’t I tell you earlier that I’ll be bringing you out for a drive one of these days?”
Gerald replied.
Mila remembered now.
It was the day of the driving test. When Gerald was sending her back to her dormitory, he said that he would drive her around in a luxury car soon.
Back then, she replied that she would be waiting then!
And as for Gerald, he then told her that he was actually a rich second generation.
To that statement, she playfully responded, “Mr. Crawford, I would be waiting for that day to come.”
Mila was simply joking around to play along with Gerald’s joke back then.
Who would’ve thought that seeing Gerald open his Lamborghini sports car’s door right in front of her eyes, Mila felt as though she was dreaming.
“Gerald, is this car really yours? I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it!!!”
Irene finally came to her senses and she felt her cheeks were sore and started acting up hysterically.
Gerald, you are nothing but a pathetic jerk. A pathetic jerk who won a small prize.
How could you possibly afford to buy such an expensive car?
[Chapter 132]
Two million six hundred thousand dollars!
What kind of status was this?
Impossible!
Irene rushed over to the car before she unceremoniously flipped out the car driving permit.
“Snap!”
Upon looking at the permit, Irene froze as she dropped the car driving permit to the ground.
She was dumbfounded.
“If you don’t want to look at it, just don’t look at it. Why do you have to throw it on the ground?”
Gerald could not help but smiled wryly.
“Some people do not have any knowledge or experience. Likewise, her father and mother too. They do not have any knowledge or experience in this at all. Gerald, why don’t you tell auntie how you met our Mila?”
Helen quickly ran over to pick up the car driving permit before glancing at it. She then grabbed Gerald’s wrist the next immediately second..
She started acting very cordially as though she was holding her own son’s hand.
“Oh, auntie. We met when we were learning how to drive!”
Gerald replied.
“Hahaha. I knew all along that our Mila has such good taste. In fact, I already knew that you were not just a simple man when I first saw you, Gerald. How can those people such as Quinton or Victor possibly be compared to you?”
“Umm…”
These words put Gerald in an awkward spot.
After all, who was that person who drove him out of their house in the past?
“Yes, Gerald. Cough. Cough. I am so sorry about this matter. Our Mason crashed into your car and damaged it!”
The old lady’s tone drastically changed, it was more pleasant and caring.
She walked towards Gerald with a smile on her face.
She was really shook to the core because of this incident.
But, it then turned out that the owner of this luxurious car was actually her grandson-in-law.
Aside from a handful who still couldn’t comprehend the fact that Gerald was indeed a local tycoon, everyone else started to open up and speak to Gerald.
Since he was in a hurry to go and repair his own car, Gerald didn’t bother waiting but was getting ready to leave even before the birthday banquet was over.
“Gerald, I’ll be heading to school later in the afternoon. Why don’t I accompany you to repair your car then?”
Mila asked playfully.
What a day. Both experiencing shocks and also a pleasant surprise.
To sum it up, she was filled with inexplicable excitement.
“Of course! After all, I told you that I’d bring you out for a ride. Get in!”
Although it was an important birthday banquet, the fact that Mila was able to go out with Gerald felt like the best gift to the old lady.
They then took off together.
“Gerald, are you really a rich second generation? So you’ve been lying to me all this while? Wait a minute, don’t tell me that you’re really the top young master, Mr. Crawford from Mayberry Commercial Street?”
Mila shot off curiously as she perched in the passenger seat.
Gerald did not know how he should answer her questions.
He was indeed the Mr. Crawford that they had been talking about.
Was he really going to fully disclose his own identity? This could only end up with one result. He would not be able to stay in this school any longer.
Because of that, Gerald decided to hide it.
He shook his head and asked, “So are you hoping that I’m Mr. Crawford, or are you hoping for me not to be him?”
“Not! Because if you really are Mr. Crawford, then you’ll not belong in the same world as us anymore. I will lose a good friend like you then!”
“Hehehe. I am not. Besides that, how can someone like Mr. Crawford possibly be driving a car that is only worth one million five hundred thousand to three million dollars? And also, just take a look at me! If it weren’t for you who picked out my clothes and matched it for me, I wouldn’t be wearing such nice clothes!”
“I simply won the lottery. I won a lot of money!”
Gerald replied as derailed.
“Hmph. That is also true. So, you are still my good friend, Gerald!”
Mila replied with a bright smile.
Gerald then realised that although Mila was someone highly intellectual, she would never think about the complexity of a question.
If it was any other girl, she would definitely be pestering him to get to the bottom of the matter.
However, Mila did not question him any further after finding out that Gerald was not Mr. Crawford.
To her, it was the same, regardless of whether Gerald was rich or not.
Gerald had sent his car to the Lamborghini shop and Wilson helped arrange for the most professional technician to repair his car.
Once that was settled, Gerald went for a walk with Mila.
“Let me buy you a cup of milk tea,” Gerald flashed a tiny smile. The both of them spotted a milk tea shop by the roadside as they were walking.
“Haha, you don’t have to! Remember that I still owe you a cup of milk tea? Plus, it’s me who asked you to pretend to be my boyfriend today. So, I owe you!”
At the mention of milk tea, Mila couldn’t help but think of the first time they met.
She was already walking towards the milk tea shop as they were conversing.
Gerald remained silent and he simply waited for Mila. A cup of milk tea was probably not enough to repay the debt that she owed him!
Gerald was waiting by the side of the road when he suddenly heard a cry for help.
“Help! Help!”
Gerald turned around and he saw that the Mayberry City’s moat was not too far away. A woman was yelling frantically.
[Chapter 133]
Gerald felt his heart skip a beat when he heard the cry for help.
He hastily rushed over.
The moat was pretty desolate as there were no parks or anything else nearby.
The woman was crying and she was drenched from head to toe.
When she saw Gerald, she almost collapsed to her knees. “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Please help save my daughter!”
The woman was beautiful and appeared to be wearing a lot of fine jewelry. It seemed as though she was quite a figure.
She hurriedly pointed at the river and Gerald could see a young girl flailing about in the water.
Her daughter had obviously tripped into the water. The woman tried to rescue her daughter but she could only plead desperately for help as she didn’t know how to swim.
Gerald watched in horror as the young girl’s body slowly stopped moving and started sinking.
He knew that it would be way too late if he did not act upon it now.
Without thinking twice, he dove into the river at an accelerated speed.
Gerald’s family used to live in a village in a small county town. There was a river by the village and Gerald learnt how to swim ever since he was a young child.
Fortunately, the water in this moat was not too deep.
Thankfully, the young girl knew some basic swimming skills which made it easier for Gerald to save the young girl, but the experience she went through was simply daunting, though without any serious mishaps.
After he carried the young girl up, the child choked a little and her face was flushed red.
Her mother was so distressed and she kept patting her back gently. She kept thanking Gerald profusely.
“Call 120 first!”
“Yes, the child is too young. Oh! What kind of mother are you? How can you allow your child to come to the water all by herself?”
Several citizens ran over as soon as they heard the commotion.
Some were making phone calls while several older women started criticizing the young mother.
“Don’t accuse my mom. Uncles and aunties, please don’t scold my mom. Tessa is the one who insisted on coming here to release my wishing boat. This has nothing to do with my mom!”
As soon as the young girl heard her mother getting ridiculed, she cried out in defense as she tried to explain herself.
“What an obedient child!”
“Yes, she is really a good young lady. Ma’am, you have to take good care of your child. If this man did not rush over here on time, the consequences would have been disastrous!”
“This young man is quite amazing!”
A few citizens who were standing at the side looked at Gerald who was completely drenched, with a look of admiration on their faces.
The mother hurriedly hoisted a weak Tessa over as slowly walked over to Gerald.
“Young man, thank you so much. What is your name? Where do you live?”
She asked for his address as she wanted to thank Gerald.
It was too obvious for Gerald to not know the intention of her query. All he did was save a person. Gerald believed that most people would have done the same to save a person in such a situation.
He simply waved it off.
“It’s alright. You should take your daughter to the hospital quickly!”
Gerald turned around to leave as he replied.
“Big brother, will I see you again?”
A weak Tessa asked.
She felt as though she was this close to death and was shaken to the core.
But there Gerald was, who jumped in to save her without any hesitation at all. This was the sole reason why she wanted to see him again.
“Yes!” Gerald did not want to let the young girl down. After smiling at her, he ignored the young mother who was still calling out to him and he left right away.
This was probably one of those once-off encounters anyway.
Gerald hurriedly ran back to the side of the road.
By now, more than twenty minutes have already passed.
Mila should have already bought her milk tea a long time ago.
When he got to the side of the road, Mila was nowhere in sight.
Hmm?
Shouldn’t she have already bought the milk tea after such a long time?
He quickly took out his cell phone and glanced at it. It was dripping wet as it had been completely soaked in water. The cell phone had also been turned off.
Could it be that Mila already went back to the car shop since she could not reach him on his cell phone?
Gerald went to the milk tea shop and looked around but he could not find her there.
He had no choice but to return to the car shop first, but attempted to switch on his phone before that. Thankfully, it worked.
Wilson suddenly called him at the same time.
He wanted to tell Gerald that his car had already been repaired.
It was not difficult to replace all the damaged parts of the car, under the intensive care of a few experienced technicians in less than forty minutes.
“By the way, Mr. Wilson, did the girl who came with me just now return to the car shop?”
“Ahh! No? She didn’t come back here again after she left with you. Is there a problem, Mr. Crawford? Did something happen? Just let me know if something happened.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wilson. No worries, everything is fine.”
Gerald felt a little puzzled after hanging up. This was strange. Where could Mila have gone?
It was impossible for her to go home. She would not have gone home alone just because she could not find him.
She wasn’t anywhere nearby to be found and she was not at the car shop either.
Where could she have gone?
[Chapter 134]
Gerald looked around everywhere but he could not find her at all. Plus, his phone had died again.
In just about an hour of searching, he was now drenched in sweat.
Mila came out with him. Could something have happened to her? Gerald had already ruled out all of the possibilities and had already been waiting around the area for such a long time.
But he still couldn’t see Mila anywhere at all.
The more he thought about it, the more Gerald started to break out in cold sweat.
Gerald decided to return to the car shop to see if he could get his cell phone to turn on.
After fiddling with it for a while, he finally managed to turn on his cell phone.
As expected, Mila did indeed make many phone calls and sent many text messages to him.
However, his cell phone had been turned off at that time.
Gerald hurriedly returned her call but he realized that Mila’s cell phone was already turned off.
What was happening?
Gerald couldn’t remain his composure any longer.
He tried calling Mila’s house but he noticed that she did not go home either.
Something definitely had happened.
Gerald suddenly raised his head.
Things seemed to be a little suspicious.
“Mr. Wilson, do you know the manager of the milk tea shop? I want to take a look at the surveillance camera recording! We need to hurry!”
Gerald immediately got up.
Wilson stuck by Gerald the entire time after he came back to the car shop.
When he realized that Gerald’s girlfriend might be in trouble, he was constantly on his toes.
Wilson nodded as he exclaimed that he knew the manager. He quickly led Gerald to the milk tea shop.
After looking at the recording of the surveillance camera, Gerald starting figuring it out slowly.
Everything happened about two hours ago.
After Mila bought the milk tea and stepped out of the shop, she realized that Gerald was gone.
She then hurriedly tried to call Gerald but discovered that Gerald’s cell phone was turned off.
Mila was very anxious.
She squatted by the roadside as she waited for ten minutes, but Gerald did not come back at all.
During those few minutes, a black Passat suddenly stopped right next to Mila.
A young man with a cap stepped out of the car.
“Are you Mila?” the young man asked with a smile.
Mila nodded slightly as she said, “And you are?”
“Oh, oh, I am a cab driver sent here by Gerald, or Mr. Crawford. He asked me to come and pick you up. He had to leave earlier because he had an emergency at home. He asked me to come to send you back to Paradise Ville!”
The man who was wearing a peaked cap smiled as he explained.
He then turned around quickly to observe his surroundings as he looked carefully towards the direction of the moat.
“Oh, thank you. I will give Gerald a call again. Why is his cell phone turned off I wonder?”
Unassumingly, Mila did not have any doubts because the man knew of Gerald’s name and he even knew hers.
Mila did not know what Gerald’s family was doing but since he left in such a hurry, then something must have come up. He called for a car to send her home because he must be worried about her.
In addition, this man knew that she lived in Paradise Ville. Looking at all these right signs, Gerald must be the one who told him this.
Mila had no doubts about these.
However, Mila was still feeling a little uneasy because she could not contact Gerald at all.
She tried calling again several times but she could not get through his cell phone at all.
“Miss Mila, are we leaving? I still have to pick another customer up!”
The driver urged.
“Oh, I am leaving! You can send me home first!”
Mila got into the car because she didn’t want to make the other party wait any longer.
She felt a little angry with Gerald. Why? Why did he leave just like that? He did not even bother to call her at all.
Did he think that she would not be able to call for a cab herself?
About ten minutes after the car left.
Gerald walked over to the milk tea shop in his wet clothes.
“Stop! Rewind the screen! Zoom in on the driver’s face!”
Gerald yelled when he saw this.
The owner of the milk tea shop did not know who this person was but he did not dare to reject a request as such since a manager like Mr. Wilson was also treating him with so much respect.
He followed Gerald’s instructions and he rewound the video before zooming into the driver’s face.
Gerald stared at the driver’s face carefully.
The brim of his cap was pulled down low and there was slight stubble around his mouth.
Despite that, Gerald could still recognize the person.
It was him?!
[Chapter 135]
Nigel!
As Gerald zoomed into the screen and fiddled about for a bit, the person shown in the picture was none other than Nigel from the Fisher family. No matter how much Nigel tried to disguise himself, he would never be able to fool Gerald because of the smile that he always had on his face.
From the start, Nigel was the trigger and the direct cause of Gerald and Xavia’s breakup.
Moreover, when they went over to the Emperor Karaoke Bar after Naomi’s birthday party, Nigel has also been keeping tabs on him. Out of anger, Gerald called Zack for help, to teach Nigel a lesson.
The moment his sister found out about this matter, she simply did not just teach Nigel a lesson. Instead, she made the entire Fisher family go bankrupt.
At last, Nigel was taken away at the entrance of the Mountain Wayfair Entertainment.
Ever since that day, the Fisher family was completely destroyed. They had to hand the Grand Marshall Restaurant over and the restaurant was now managed by the Ziegler family instead.
Just like that overnight, Nigel turned from a rich second generation into a pauper.
In addition to that, he already turned out this way before he even knew what was happening.
But now…why was Nigel kidnapping Mila?
Gerald was baffled.
Was he simply kidnapping her to blackmail them for a sum of money?
However, when he looked at the situation, it did not seem that way.
He had obviously told Mila something and he finally convinced Mila before she agreed to get into his car.
Gerald also noticed another detail.
When Nigel was talking to Mila, his eyes were constantly looking towards the direction of the moat where he had been.
It was as though he knew and was worried that Gerald would suddenly come back.
Did this mean that Nigel had already been planning this for a long time? Was he kidnapping Mila because of him?
If Nigel found out later on that his family was completely ruined because of him, then it would certainly make sense for Nigel to retaliate against him.
No matter what it was, what Gerald was most certain of was that Mila was in danger. Extreme danger!
Gerald thought hard about the countermeasures.
At that very instant, Gerald’s cell phone suddenly rang.
It was from an unknown number.
“Hehehe. Gerald. Oh wait, that’s not right. I should call you Mr. Crawford instead. Do you remember me?”
An indifferent and arrogant voice crackled through from the other end of the call.
“Nigel, it is really you!”
Gerald immediately recognized the voice as soon as he heard it.
“That’s right. How unexpectedly, a big shot like you would actually remember someone like me. Hahaha. This feels like a drama indeed. Gerald, back then, everyone simply thought that you were nothing but a pauper. But what? You are actually the wealthy and influential young master who owns the entire Mayberry Commercial Street? I used to think that my dad was really bullish but he was just working for you all along! If it wasn’t for me who heard Zack secretly making a phone call to you when I was planning to retaliate against him, I would never have imagined that you were the one who destroyed my family with just one phone call!”
“But, Mr. Crawford, why do you have to hold it against me when you are already so rich and powerful? Yes, I was the one who asked Yuri to snatch your girlfriend from you. It was wrong of me. But then, you destroyed my family and you left me with nothing at all! Don’t you think you were being too cruel?”
Hearing this, Gerald replied, “You know I did feel that I was being a little too cruel and heartless at that time, but now I do not think so anymore!”
“Nigel, whatever it is, this is between the both of us. Mila is innocent. Let her go. I’ll come to you wherever you are now and I’ll agree to any of your terms or conditions!”
“Hehe. Gerald, you are really a pompous ass! You were my main target. I originally planned to hit you with my car so that the both of us can die together! On a second thought, it felt too boring. What more, I have such a beautiful young woman next to me right now. This is really worth it! So Gerald, she’s your girlfriend? Do you want to listen to her voice now?”
“Gerald, you must not come here! He is a lunatic!”
“Don’t come! Sob…sob…”
Mila cried and yelled over the phone.
Gerald grew extremely anxious.
Although he was simply pretending to be Mila’s boyfriend, Mila was still out with him today.
The reason why Nigel kidnapped Mila was because he wanted revenge on him.
Everything was all because of him.
“Gerald, if you want to save your girlfriend, then you should come and see me at the unfinished building in the south of the city. Do not contact Zack. It will be useless anyway. If anyone else comes, then I will just perish with your girlfriend! Come and see me within an hour!”
“Du…du…du…”
Nigel hung up as soon as he was done speaking.
Gerald grew pale.
It seemed as though he had guessed everything correctly. His identity had been leaked and he had attracted Nigel’s attention. And look where this brought him, Nigel who was already mentally unsound is now launching a revenge against him.
Gerald was certain that this guy would be capable of doing anything now.
Looking at the situation, it wouldn’t be enough to rely on his own strength to resolve this matter.
He had to look for Zack so that he could help him to come up with a solution.
Gerald quickly called Zack and filled him in. Zack took this matter very seriously.
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